The Downtown Farmer’s Market kicks off its 2019 season this week on Wednesday, May 1st! Every Wednesday now through October 30th a variety of vendors will set up shop on Market Street between 10th and 11th Streets from 10 AM to 2 PM to take part in this time-honored Downtown tradition! You won’t want to miss it!

To help you make the most of the Downtown' Farmer’s Market this season, we’ve put together a list of seven of our favorite things to do at the Market!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Kick off the holiday season and make your weekend merry and bright by enjoying the Small Business Saturday festivities in Downtown Wilmington, DE. All the details and deals you will need for the entire day are below!

Parade:The Wilmington Jaycees’ 55th Annual Christmas Parade will be held in conjunction with Small Business Saturday on November 24th. Start the shopping season by supporting local businesses that create jobs, boost our economy, and preserve neighborhoods around our country.

The Parade route beings at 5th and King Streets, and ends at Rodney Square. Children at the parade are encouraged to write a letter to Santa and drop it off when Santa passes along the parade route. (Children should provide their complete mailing address, including zip code, if they would like a reply.) The Wilmington Jaycees will work with Santa and his elves to make every effort to answer each letter.

Live Entertainment:Enjoy live entertainment from 12PM-1:30PM at our Downtown businesses: LOMA Coffee: Jessica Graae blends her folk-rock style and classical training to create haunting, soulful songs. Her “evocative, lush, exquisite vocals, accompanied by elegant and impressive guitar playing” create a “meditative backdrop” for her music.Starbucks on Market: LisaJeanette is a folk/pop singer-songwriter and performer from Philadelphia.Margaux Restaurant: David Wilson is a singer/songwriter who blends folk, country, and americana music to create his original sound.

Restaurant & Small Business Specials:

#SHOPSMALL at our Downtown businesses after the parade and grab dinner while you're here!

Poppycock Tattoo: For every $100 gift certificate get an extra $25 added. Plus 10% off body piercings sale AND a fun $80 Sailor Jerry tattoo flash special only on Nov 24th!

Lafate Gallery: 50% OFF on Framed and Unframed Limited Edition Prints! Also, gift certificates as holiday "Art Class Gifts" to children & adults are available for purchase.

The Mill Space: SBS #shopsmall market from 9AM-1PM on the 4th floor of the Nemours building. Several small businesses will be offering anything from jewelry & apparel to services like photography. Following the close of the SBS market get access to the shop small social at Tonic Bar and Grille!

UDairy Creamery: FREE Christmas sprinkles with any ice cream purchase for the parade. Plus $5 gift card for any $20 spent on Small Business Saturday!

Stay Downtown all night long & enjoy the FREE LIGHT SHOW!!!Our friends at The Grand Opera House, Wilmington DE will have a holiday-themed light show to add to the festivities on Small Business Saturday. Three different shows will take place at 5PM, 5:30PM & 6PM on November 24th!

A historic gem dating back to 1905, as the image below shows, 618 Market Street was a crowning jewel of Market Street. Most recently, The Buccini/Pollin Group and BPGS Construction restored the building from distress back to its former glory.

Restaurateur, Scott Stein and Chef Antimo DiMeo were interested in creating a one-of-a-kind dining experience within the building and Downtown Visions Main Street Program was thrilled to help. With support from Comenity Bank, Downtown Visions was able to provide $12,500 towards flooring, paint, ceiling tile and lighting for the recently opened yet already a neighborhood favorite, Bardea.

The restaurant features interpretive Italian cuisine utilizing ingredients from local Delaware Valley farms and purveyors, and features a number of composed dishes with both Italian and American origins. Bardea, pronounced bar-DAY-ah, is the Italian term for "the goddess of food and drink."

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki unveiled a comprehensive communications and promotional campaign—“It’s Time”—to highlight the people of Wilmington and the City as a whole. The new image and pride campaign will tell the stories of Wilmington and its people through narratives and videos utilizing multiple platforms for audiences within the City, as well as regionally, nationally and throughout the world. The announcement was made this evening at a Wilmington Love community celebration in Rodney Square where the Mayor was joined by Governor John Carney and City Council President Hanifa Shabazz.

Governor Carney, a proud City resident who spoke at the Wilm Love celebration, said he’s excited for Wilmington. “Wilmington has been my home for the past three decades, and you can feel the momentum and progress in communities throughout our City,” said Governor John Carney. “It’s true that as goes Wilmington, so goes our state. Wilmington is Delaware’s economic capital, and we all have a stake in its success. I’m pleased to be joining all of our public and private sector partners in helping to tell the story of our City.”

The new communications and promotional campaign establishes a set of shared resources to help neighborhoods and community organizations tell their Wilmington story. These resources include:

Polling and research to continually solicit local feedback, attitudes and opinions

Digital tools that include new web-based, social media and YouTube channels

Public relations to help promote local efforts through regional and national media

Mayor Purzycki said the new campaign does not replace current community-driven efforts such as www.InWilmDE.com, known as the “in” campaign, or any other current promotional effort. Instead, he said, the new campaign will compliment or leverage efforts to promote the City.

The Mayor said the campaign is a megaphone to help tell the powerful stories of Wilmington’s people. To be successful, he said, the campaign needs all citizens to be participants. “We want to hear from all Wilmingtonians,” said the Mayor. “If you know about someone or something awesome in Wilmington, please tell us at http://stories.wilm.love. If you have photos or videos that you think should be a part of our community campaign, submit them to http://media.wilm.love.”

Mayor Purzycki today expressed his appreciation for the private sector support for the campaign, which totals more than a half-million dollars to enable Wilmington to tell a more complete story about itself and its citizens in a consistent and continual fashion. The campaign’s private sector partners include Barclays, Capital One, CSC, Epic Research, Incyte, JP Morgan Chase, Chemours and WSFS. In addition, the State has contributed $250,000 and the Mayor has pledged a $70,000 contribution from the City.

Within the Wilmington Downtown Business Improvement District, a block-by-block inventory done by Downtown Visions in 2009 showed that 78% of the buildings would benefit from improved façade treatments. Today, over 66 buildings have been improved, most recently 218 Grille, Residence Inn and the 9th Mile Galleria.

A walk down Market Street proves that the program has been incredibly successful in the restoration of the once hidden and neglected historic character. Market Street now provides visitors and residents with a charming and welcoming atmosphere thanks to restored buildings and storefronts through Downtown Visions' Façade Improvement Program and Main Street Program. Downtown Visions staff oversee each individual exterior improvement project from beginning to end as well as provide grants on a matching basis up to $25,000 per façade improvement. For more information on the program and how it could benefit your business or entrepreneurial venture, click here.